Founder + CEO
For more than 35 years, Lissa has established a powerful reputation– across the country – as a highly seasoned public affairs strategist, crisis management leader, nine-time Emmy award-winning television journalist, media consultant, guest lecturer, and tireless client advisor. In addition to leading the Strategia team, she counsels clients on issues at the intersection of government affairs and lobbying, crisis communications, municipal relations, media relations/training, corporate communications, internal/external communications strategy, and social media. Lissa is also the national government relations director for Riot Hospitality Group, a national hospitality management company based in Scottsdale, AZ.
During her eight years with Serafin & Associates, Lissa’s clients included large and small corporations, celebrities, municipalities, and law enforcement agencies across the United States and, in some cases, the world. She spent 21 years as a television news and sports journalist working primarily for CBS before capping her television career as the executive producer launching the Comcast SportsNet networks in Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Houston, and New York, winning the 2009 Chicago Journalism Award in Sports. She has written and produced for news, entertainment, and sports and has covered headline stories, including the Persian Gulf War, the Oklahoma City bombing, the O.J. Simpson murder trial, the Chicago Bulls championships, and numerous national and local elections.
Lissa was honored as a 2022 Woman of the Year by Enterprising Women magazine and received the 2019 National Professional Women in Advocacy Award and the 2016 Filipo Mazzei Award for Excellence in Public Affairs.
In 2018, she received one of the highest honors from the Italian government: induction as a Cavaliere dell’ Ordine della Stella d’Italia, or Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy. Bestowed upon her by the President of the Italian Republic, His Excellency Sergio Mattarella, this honor is a direct result of her deep commitment to championing the Italian culture and supporting the Italian American community in the Chicagoland area.
Lissa frequently guest lectures and is a regular contributor on television and radio stations, offering a front-line analysis and perspective on crises and public affairs priorities. She is currently the chairman of the board of directors of The Jarrett Payton Foundation and serves as executive director of the Riot Gives Back nonprofit foundation. She is on the engagement committee of the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii Italian American church and is a National Italian American Foundation member. Lissa is also an active alumna of her alma mater, the University of Arizona, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in media arts with an emphasis in television news production. Bear Down!
